A Wedding Night
by Jemennuie
Summary: Bellatrix's and Rodolphus's wedding night, complete with all the awkwardness and humour that first times can entail.


A/N: Rated M for sexual references, which I have endeavored to make as non-explicit as possible.

 **A Wedding Night**

Bellatrix's fingers expertly weaved through her hair, searching for any last bobby pins she had missed. Feeling the hard nub of one such bobby pin, she angled her head slightly to get a better view in the mirror before gently untangling it from her hair. With a clicking sound, she set it down on the vanity in front of her and continued surveying herself in the mirror. She was still wearing her pristinely white wedding robes with a pearl choker nestled against her neck, but her elegant bun was now mostly dismantled. Narcissa – with all the energy of the excitable fourteen-year old she was – had spent nearly an hour eagerly weaving bobby pins through Bellatrix's dark curls to hold the bun in place.

In the mirror's reflection, she could see Rodolphus sitting behind her on the room's bed. Or rather, as she reminded herself, _their_ bed. Both she and Rodolphus had graduated from Hogwarts only a couple of months ago, and Rodolphus's parents had granted them one of the Lestranges' smaller properties as a wedding gift. She and Rodolphus had begun furnishing the house and moving their belongings in a few weeks before the wedding, but she still found herself somehow surprised when she realized this – the house they were in now – was her new home.

Digging her fingers against her scalp, she pulled out another errant bobby pin, and another strand of carefully curled dark hair unfurled against her neck. Rodolphus was leaning back, watching her with a vaguely content expression. Rodolphus was far too stoic to ever overtly display his emotions – she did not think she had ever seen him openly smile – but she had known him for long enough to recognize the way his eyes shined when he was happy.

"Narcissa was a bit overenthusiastic with the bobby pins," Bellatrix explained, catching his eye in the mirror's reflection.

"I can see," he said, an amused lilt to his voice. "I must admit, I had assumed your hair was charmed into its style for the wedding."

"There are charms, but Narcissa was so excited about doing my hair I let her, and she doesn't know those spells yet," Bellatrix said, adding another bobby pin to the dozens spread out on the vanity.

She knew – or at least suspected – that Rodolphus was not watching her entirely for its own sake, but also because he was patiently waiting. After a full day's worth of wedding festivities, they were finally home alone on their wedding night, and she knew that was when couples consummated their marriage. The most she and Rodolphus had done before was kiss, and even though it was considered gravely improper to discuss what exactly went into the wedding night, she had eavesdropped on enough girls in the Slytherin common room to glean an idea of what it involved.

She ran her hand through her hair and, satisfied she had removed all of the bobby pins, turned towards Rodolphus. A smile playing on her lips, she said, "Do you want to help me take off my necklace?"

"Of course, m'lady," Rodolphus said, standing to walk towards her and delicately undo the necklace's clasp. Setting it down on the vanity, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Bellatrix felt her face flush and her train of thought derail at the feeling of him pressed against her, and he murmured in her ear, "Is that all you want me to take off?"

"Well, now that you mention it, my wedding robes are laced up the back so I will need someone to undo them if I ever hope to wear something else," Bellatrix said in a teasing voice. "I suppose I could floo Narcissa since she is the one who laced them in the first place, but if you think you can manage…"

Rodolphus's fingers slid from her waist to her back as he said, "Oh, I think I will be able to manage."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later it became clear that Rodolphus, apparently, could not manage.

"Did your sister really knot your robes the entire way up your back?" Rodolphus said, his fingers still fumbling with the first knot.

"Of course. It wouldn't do to have the robes slip during the ceremony," Bellatrix replied carelessly. Admittedly she hadn't though it would be that difficult to undo the knots, and she carefully added, "You know, I was joking about floo-ing Narcissa, but if that's what it'll take…"

"No, I will be able to undo them," he said firmly. After a moment he cautiously added, "How much would it cost to replace the lacing up the back?"

"We're not vanishing the lacing, if that's what you're getting at," Bellatrix promptly replied.

"You cannot deny it would be faster," he said lightly, but after that he refocused his attention on undoing the knots. In a jesting tone, he idly added, "I'm beginning to wonder if there is a branch of Dark Magic relating to knots, and if Narcissa happens to be particularly knowledgeable in it."

Bellatrix smirked and sarcastically replied, "Yes, it's amazing how quickly she's taken to it. With her command over the Dark Arts of knots, she's certain to be the next Grindelwald. The only difference is that she'll take over the Continent by ensuring nobody can get out of their robes."

Bellatrix felt her wedding robes loosen their grip on her neck as Rodolphus finally successfully undid the first knot, and after a number of minutes she could feel the bedroom's chilly air against her back as he finished untying the rest of the knots. His warm fingers danced along her bare skin before he leaned down to brush a kiss against the base of her neck, and she felt herself shiver at the sensation of his lips.

"If you're cold, I'm sure there's a way we can remedy that," Rodolphus said with a hint of mischievousness to his voice. A second later he had swept Bellatrix into his arms before laying her down on the bed.

He had just leaned over to kiss her when she let her head fully rest on the pillow and felt a sharp stabbing pain in the back of her head. Immediately she bolted to an upright sitting position, only for her head to painfully collide with Rodolphus's, and they both let out a sharp exclamation as they rolled apart from each other.

"What was that?" Rodolphus said, wincing and holding a hand to his forehead.

Bellatrix was silent for a moment, digging one hand through her hair before finally triumphantly pulling out a bobby pin and hurling it across the room. "One of Narcissa's bobby pins stabbed me." She felt rather silly sitting on the bed partly undressed while massaging her forehead, and after a moment she slid over to where Rodolphus was sitting. "How's your head?"

A smile glimmered in his eyes, and his gaze flicked up and down her. "Better. How's yours?"

"Good. Now, where were we…" Bellatrix purred, starting to play with the collar of his robes. "Hardly fair for you to still be fully-dressed. I think we should fix that."

Only fumbling slightly, she started to undo his dress robes' buttons. She was halfway done unbuttoning his robes and was just letting her fingers brush against his skin when she noticed him slightly wincing. Pausing, her eyes darted towards his with a frown, and before she could say anything, he took her hands in his and explained, "Your fingers are cold."

"Oh."

His hands did feel quite warm compared to hers, and she glanced down, noticing how her hands were dwarfed by his. Clasping her hands in his, he lightly pressed a kiss to them and began lightly rubbing her fingers, as though to warm them up.

Bellatrix looked up again and, her gaze catching on Rodolphus's, found a small smile tugging at her lips. She was relatively fortunate in her marriage to Rodolphus. Not only because the Lestranges were of the same social status as the Blacks, but also because she and Rodolphus were a much better match than many pureblood girls managed to land. They were of the same age, and they had been friendly with each other even before they started dating. It also didn't hurt that Rodolphus, with his broad shoulders, strong arms, and rich brown eyes, was rather handsome.

Rodolphus held one of her hands to his cheek, and Bellatrix said with a smirk playing on her lips, "Warm enough yet?"

"Quite," he replied, sounding nearly amused as he let go of her hands.

She continued undoing his robes, finally sliding them off his shoulders and momentarily feeling her breath catch in her throat. She had never seen him – or, indeed, any man – in such a state of undress before. Kissing him again, she gently pushed him down onto the bed and let her hands run across his muscled torso.

After several more kisses, Bellatrix started becoming increasingly aware of just how chilly it was in their bedroom. She pressed herself against Rodolphus's warm body, trying to stave off the cold, but it was no use. The cold air continued to nip at her exposed skin, and with a huff she broke off one of their kisses to stand up and walk towards their linen closet. Rodolphus appeared momentarily alarmed at her sudden retreat, before she briefly explained, "It's quite cold. I'm bringing us a blanket."

It seemed as though they had barely returned to kissing, now with the blanket draped over the both of them, when Rodolphus said, "Is it not a bit warm now?"

Bellatrix had to keep herself from making a sour expression. She thought the temperature was perfect, but clearly Rodolphus was not of the same opinion; indeed, small beads of sweat were starting to form on his forehead. "Let's find a thinner blanket, then."

This time the two of them walked to the linen closet, and Rodolphus grabbed the top blanket. "This one should work."

"That one is apparently nigh-impossible to clean. We should use a different one."

"This one, then."

"That's not even a blanket. It's a sheet; it won't provide me with any warmth. Let's use this one."

They returned to the bed, this time with their sufficiently thin but not-too-thin blanket. Bellatrix was not sure how long they had been caressing each other's bodies – the lingering imprint of warm lips and warm fingertips was making everything hazy – when she noticed that suddenly it was quite hot, and she tore the blanket off them.

"Finally, thank Merlin," Rodolphus said immediately, his face flushed from the heat. "Even that blanket was too much." Bellatrix gave an amused smile, and for a moment she pretended to drape the blanket back over them before discarding it entirely with a laugh.

They continued caressing each other, their kisses wandering to more and more intimate locations and their touches building in intensity until –

"Are you sure you're doing that right?" Bellatrix said with a wince.

After a moment, Rodolphus awkwardly replied, "Well, no. I'm not sure."

"Let me try," Bellatrix said, ignoring Rodolphus's skeptical expression as she repositioned him. "How about this?"

It was now Rodolphus's turn to wince. "Not like that."

"Oh. Is this better?"

The corners of Rodolphus's lips tugged into a smile. "Yes, much."

"How convenient," Bellatrix smiled, "I like this too."

* * *

Afterwards, the two of them lay together on the bed, their arms brushing, their fingers intertwined. Rodolphus leaned over and kissed Bellatrix, sweetly and deeply.

"You still taste like our wedding cake," she said with a teasing smirk.

Rodolphus's eyes shone with amusement. "I will take that as a compliment, given you picked our wedding cake."

"My mother actually picked it out," Bellatrix replied. A crease formed in Rodolphus's forehead and she continued, "What?"

He replied matter-of-factly, "I would prefer to not be thinking about your mother while we are naked in bed together."

That train of thought had not occurred to Bellatrix; it was simply reflex for her to correct people when they spoke incorrectly. "Wonderful, now I'm also thinking of my mother."

"If you would prefer, you could think of my mother," he replied with a gently teasing tone.

"Yes, much better," she said sarcastically. In a moment though, a small smile had formed again on her lips. Rodolphus was softly gazing into her eyes, his expression warm and sweet like honey. "You're looking at me."

"You're looking at me," Rodolphus replied.

Bellatrix smiled and continued gazing into his eyes, "I suppose I am."

…

A/N: I wrote this for a "First Time" challenge over at the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum. I've unfortunately lost the link to it, but I'm pretty sure the challenge was just to write about a couple's first time. I haven't read many fics with this type of genre, but my goal was to go a different direction than I'm guessing most of these types of fics go, so let me know what you think! Also, as a disclaimer, the cover art isn't mine; it's one of makani's drawings.


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